Tortilla de Rabano con Gambas y Tomates

Hello,  everyone.  We have been missing the Spanish foods terribly.  Especially the low carb version of the Tortilla.

A note for my Latin American readers, the Mexican tortilla is a bread product.  You wrap it around things like fajitas or scrambled egg mixtures. The Spanish tortilla,  which is also found on the island of Puerto Rico, is an egg product. The most frequent form involves potato slices.

My version of tortilla isn't based on egg-with-potato, it's based on egg-with-radish. This has a LOT less starch and is otherwise like the potato version.

We ate 2/3 of it for dinner, this being a Friday in Lent, and couldn't wait for pictures.  Honestly,  this wasn't the prettiest tortilla ever made, but with a drizzle of Cholula pepper sauce it might be the best. 

I sliced up sauce-type tomato wedges in about 1/16 inch slices, about a half of a fat Marzano type tomato. I peeled and then sliced the last of our amazing Korean style big radishes from the fall garden. These slices were about 1/8 inch. The shrimps were from a frozen bag of extra small, peeled, de-veined, de-tailed shrimp from the HEB freezer case.

I used 7 large cage-free eggs, broken up with a whisk.

Of course the sliced radish got salted and drained. And the eggs also got about a half teaspoon of salt.

Friends, this is a meal that is tasty, and filling, and has very little starch. We each ate 1/3 of the finished tortilla. The final third will probably reappear as breakfast. 

YUM!

An Easter decoration

Hello, everyone.  It's only about a week and a half until Latin Easter. I understand that Orthodox Easter is a week off from that this year.

I have gotten it together to hang an Easter wreath. 

Components: Dollar Tree wreath form and plastic eggs, Hobby Lobby fabric peonies and lambs quarters, JoAnn fabric hydrangeas, and an entire 3 yard roll of ribbon.

(I looked at the Hobby Lobby hydrangeas but I didn't like them. I checked out the ones at JoAnn while picking up the ruler holder.) 

It does put some cheer on the door, doesn't it.

A great new tool

Hello, everyone. 

Yesterday I picked up my online order from JoAnn's and today I opened the box--the reason for making an order--and used it.

There is occasionally a need to pick up the nested-in glass of this coffee table. Other ways of lifting it out of its encircling ring pose too much risk to the thin wooden ring or the glass. (Think prying up with a thin butter knife here.) While fretting about it, I noticed the spiffy ruler holders some ladies online use to hold things steady. 

It worked like a charm! I  lifted the oval glass up and turned it so it rested on the rim, then carefully removed it for the (very necessary) cleaning of the wooden table top.

I'm so excited about this. I'm also looking forward to stabilizing rulers while cutting and trimming fabric.

A new project

Hello, everyone. 

The other day DH got tired of hearing "honey, what temp do I want for this meat?" while seeing me wave the thermometer around in the kitchen. So I looked up recommended meat temps and digitized a little chart to hang in the kitchen.

It has since been tucked into a frame for hanging.

Thread: variegated blues in cotton, from stash. Sulky? I forget. Fabric: faux linen from stash, stabilized with 2 layers of medium weight cut away in white.

Now I can look at a chart without digging through the cookbook. 

Spring has sprung, or at least some rain

Hello, everyone.  We returned to Bentsen State Park the other day and discovered that there hD been rain there recently. (At our place, not so much.) There was moisture on some of the pavement and everything that could throw on a flower seemed to be doing so.

Tulipan is our native hibiscus shrub. It's related to Turk's Cap but the flower looks different. 

A small sample of the happy trees and shrubs. This yellow flowering tree is retama. It resembles paloverde from a distance but it grows where there is moisture.  The white flowering tree in front is wild olive, also called anacahuita, another native. 

We had a very enjoyable walk, for about 4 miles. (6K about.)

A cute little critter we saw a while back

Hello, everyone.  I had meant to post this a couple of weeks ago and forgot. Oops!

We were walking at Bentsen State Park and almost stepped on this little guy.

This is a young tortoise, who was crossing the path. He was about the size of my palm. As he was in the middle of the path, we moved him over to where he was going so he wouldn't get stepped on or run over.

Desert Rose in bloom

Hello, everyone.  Today will be a short post: the Desert Rose flower bud is open! 

Isn't it beautiful. 

New tranquilizer, er, beads

Hello, everyone.  I have been  a little high-strung lately, and found myself stringing seed beads. First one strand. Then a second. And on and on, until 7 strands, mostly mixes but some straight from the little box. 

After that it was, how can I hang a cross from it? I had a St. Benedict medal crucifix in stash. Found a pretty round disk to put in back of it, and a little bail to hold them together.  But. The little bail had no hope of enclosing the seven strands of seed beads.

Enter peyote stitch. I started at the fat part and did decreases down to four across. Then made a loop for a hanger, which goes through the bail. Then went back to the fay part and repeated down to the four across. Made another loop for hanging, but at the center bead I went through the center bead of the existing loop, parting from it after to go up to the four across. I think there are about 4 strands of Fireline going through that center bead!

Still, stringing and weaving the beads was very relaxing and helped me to maintain calm during some tense days.

Here is the necklace:

Seen while walking

Hello, everyone. 

Among the native birds to this area is the Whistling Tree Duck. There is also a black one, which has black patches, I think on the wings.

They're called Whistling Ducks because instead of quacking like mallards, they make a sort of squeaky, whistling sound when they fly.

They're fairly comfortable living near people,  too.

as witness this flock we saw while out on a training walk. 

Turkeys strutting their stuff

Hello, everyone. A few days ago we went back to Bentsen State Park and were walking during the bird feeding time.

(They're still filling the bird feeders now.)

Aren't they gorgeous? 

The bird blind by the resaca was full of birds. I thought they were the teen-ager male turkeys. 

I know people often use "turkey" as a synonym for fool, but these wild birds have obviously figured out that the park is a safe place for them.

Another little bowl filler

Hello,everyone. It probably seems like a lot of bowl fillers, pincushions, and potential wrist rests appear here. That is because they're so relaxing to make. Especially when I am in the middle of a big project like a quilt, it's restful to take a short break, use up some scraps, and finish something. 

Today's bowl filler is about 4 inches across.